University of San
Francisco psychology doctoral student Liliana Campos Ramales won’t graduate for
another two years, but she already knows the types of patients she wants to
work with as a psychologist – undocumented residents who face constant fear of
being discovered and deported.

This fear can lead to
anxiety, withdrawal, and depression, says Ramales, a clinical
psychology doctoral student. Moreover, undocumented residents may
undergo unnecessary suffering to avoid being discovered. For example, an
undocumented worker injured in the workplace may not report it to their
employer or go to the hospital, out of fear they’ll be exposed. That could lead
to lasting physical — and potentially mental — consequences.

“Families endure a lot of
pain,” says Ramales.

For her dissertation,
Ramales plans to talk to undocumented USF students about their fears of
deportation and their experiences living in constant uncertainty. She hopes her
findings will allow universities more broadly to better understand the needs of
the population and to offer more tailored services.

“Just allowing
undocumented young people to tell their stories in a safe space can help them
heal,” she says. Which is why, outside of her research, Ramales partners with
the university’s Task Force to Support Undocumented
Students to help students build solidarity, find support, and
learn coping strategies to deal with discrimination and the fear of
deportation.

Ramales was undocumented
when she began applying to doctoral programs, so was ineligible for most
financial aid. She found support at USF. The School of Nursing and Health
Professions worked with Ramales one-on-one to secure a scholarship –
the Dean Karshmer Academic Merit Fund, for students who maintain a 3.9
GPA.

The scholarship covers
Ramales’ first two years of school. It’s the first time she’s attended school
without also having to work multiple jobs to pay the bills. And last semester,
through an immigration attorney, Ramales secured a visa making her a legal U.S.
resident.

She’s enjoyed her
clinical student rotations at psychiatric units of local hospitals and at
nonprofits, where she often has the opportunity to work with undocumented
patients, providing therapy and medical assessments. Each week she travels with
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s SALUDos mobile clinic to migrant camps in
Gilroy, Calif., to provide psychological services to migrant farmworkers.

And she’s found a mentor
in School of Education Professor Genevieve Negron-Gonzalez — who co-founded the Task Force to Support Undocumented Students and whose
own academic work focuses largely on the undocumented community.

“To be able to just study
and work on issues that are important to me has empowered me as a person, a
professional, and a student,” Ramales says. “I really can’t imagine myself at
another institution.”

November 6, 2018 — Benefactors and friends of Jesuits West attended the White Collar Luncheon held on All Saints Day at the Isaac Orr Room, Seattle Archdiocese Chancery. Over 25 Jesuits from Seattle U, Seattle Prep, Bellarmine Prep Tacoma and other NW Jesuit ministries were in attendance.

November 1, 2018 — Our new Director of Communications for the Jesuits West Province comes from our own Jesuit family. Tracey Primrose, who served for the last six and ½ years as the Secretary for Communications for the Jesuit Conference, is joining our team at Jesuits West.

October 29, 2018 — Most Reverend Michael Barber, SJ, Bishop of Oakland, ordained 6 Jesuits as Deacons at Christ the Light Cathedral. Two Deacons featured in the video, Andrew Laguna, SJ, and Francis Nguyen, SJ, are from Jesuits West Province.

October 23, 2018 – Two Jesuit Scholastics in 1st Studies, James Millikan, SJ, and Raymond Parcon, SJ, share their personal experiences of serving in Alaska frontier villages that are accessible only by plane or sea.